Carlisle appoints garden village masterplanner

Carlisle City Council has appointed Arup as the masterplanner in the next phase for St Cuthbert’s Garden Village.

St Cuthbert’s is part of the first round of the government’s garden communities programme. It is expected to deliver approximately 10,000 homes and new schools, as well as improvements to infrastructure and services.

The project is set to complement plans to deliver the Carlisle Southern Link Road (CSLR) – a strategic link road connecting junction 42 of the M6 with the A595 Carlisle Northern Development Route. This has been allocated £300,000 from the garden communities programme and £102 million from the government's Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF). Cumbria County Council worked with Carlisle City Council and Homes England to develop the HIF bid.

Arup will be supported by Hive Land and Planning, who will provide strategic advice. They will bring together and build upon the work already undertaken by Carlisle City Council, its partners and consultants to deliver the Stage 2 Framework Masterplan, which will include community and stakeholder engagement.

Colin Glover, leader of Carlisle City Council, said: “The masterplanning appointment is another important step forward for our ambitious plans for Carlisle and the Borderlands region. We are a growing city and as part of the garden village proposal, we aim to create increased high-quality housing and employment opportunities, together with new community facilities. We want to positively plan for the continued sustainable growth of the city adding to Carlisle’s offer as a place to live and will diversify the city’s overall housing offer.

Kathryn Donnelly, project manager at Arup, added: “St Cuthbert’s Garden Village will create significant growth for the Borderlands region by providing high quality homes and vital transport links for local people. We can’t wait to start work with Carlisle City Council and its partners to support the delivery of this truly transformational project.”